Big Match Feature: Bayern v Man City

Manchester City are within touching distance of a third successive UEFA Champions League semifinal as they travel to Germany for the second leg of their quarterfinal against six-time champions Bayern München holding a three-goal advantage.Catch the action live on SuperSport and Showmax Pro.

City manager Josep Guardiola oversaw an emphatic 3-0 win against his former club – who he guided to three Bundesliga titles and three UEFA Champions League semi-finals between 2013 and 2016 – in what was the first knockout meeting between the clubs. Rodri's spectacular long-range effort (27) – his first UEFA Champions League goal – was supplemented in the final 20 minutes by Bernardo Silva (70) and Erling Haaland (76) as Bayern conceded more goals in 90 minutes than in their first eight matches of this season's competition combined.

Bayern, who on 24 March replaced Julian Nagelsmann with Thomas Tuchel – coach of Chelsea when they beat City in the 2021 final – will need to mount a remarkable comeback to reach the semi-finals for the first time since 2019/20, when they claimed their sixth European Cup. City have made the last four in each of the last two seasons, although they suffered three successive quarter-final exits under Guardiola before that.

The sides reached the last eight in contrasting fashion, Bayern coming through a heavyweight round of 16 contest against Paris Saint-Germain while City eliminated German opposition at the same stage, a 7-0 second-leg victory at home to Leipzig equalling their biggest win in UEFA competition. The first-leg win against Bayern was also City's biggest in a European quarter-final match.

This is the only one of this season's UEFA Champions League quarter-finals between reigning domestic champions.

The winners of this tie will face Real Madrid or Chelsea in the semi-final.

PREVIOUS MEETINGS

This is the sides' eighth meeting, with City now having four victories to Bayern's three and scoring 12 goals to their opponents' ten. The first six of those contests came in the UEFA Champions League group stage between September 2011 and November 2014.

Each side recorded a 2-0 home victory in 2011/12, Mario Gomez's first-half double (38, 45+1) giving Jupp Heynckes' Bayern a Matchday 2 win in Munich before David Silva (36) and Yaya Touré (52) earned City the points in Manchester on Matchday 6. Bayern finished top of Group A on 13 points, with Roberto Mancini's City eliminated having finished third on ten.

The roles were reversed in 2013/14, by which time Guardiola was in charge of Bayern, each game finishing in an away win. Franck Ribéry (7), Thomas Müller (56) and Arjen Robben (59) scored in Bayern's 3-1 victory in Manchester on Matchday 2, Álvaro Negredo's 79th-minute strike City's only response.

Müller (5) and Mario Götze (12) gave Bayern an early two-goal cushion in Munich on Matchday 6, but David Silva (28) and Aleksandar Kolarov (59pen) brought City level before James Milner's 62nd-minute winner. Bayern still finished top of Group D ahead of Manuel Pellegrini's City on head-to-head record after each side had collected 15 points.

Both teams also progressed in 2014/15, although Guardiola's Bayern finished on 15 points, seven above Pellegrini's City in Group E. They kicked off with a 1-0 win against their English opponents in Munich, former City defender Jérôme Boateng scoring a 90th-minute winner. The tables were turned in Manchester on Matchday 5, Sergio Agüero's added-time goal completing his hat-trick (22, 85, 90+1) and snatching a 3-2 victory; Xabi Alonso (40) and Robert Lewandowski (45) were on target for Bayern.

FORM GUIDE

BAYERN

Bayern's European Cup quarter-final record is W20 L12:

- 2021/22 Villarreal L 1-2 (0-1 a, 1-1 h)
- 2020/21 Paris Saint-Germain L 3-3 away goals (2-3 h, 1-0 a)
- 2019/20 Barcelona W 8-2 (n)
- 2017/18 Sevilla W 2-1 (2-1 a, 0-0 h)
- 2016/17 Real Madrid L 3-6 (1-2 h, 2-4 a aet)
- 2015/16 Benfica W 3-2 (1-0 h, 2-2 a)
- 2014/15 Porto W 7-4 (1-3 a, 6-1 h)
- 2013/14 Manchester United W 4-2 (1-1 a, 3-1 h)
- 2012/13 Juventus W 4-0 (2-0 h, 2-0 a)
- 2011/12 Marseille W 4-0 (2-0 a, 2-0 h)
- 2009/10 Manchester United W 4-4 away goals (2-1 h, 2-3 a)
- 2008/09 Barcelona L 1-5 (0-4 a, 1-1 h)
- 2006/07 AC Milan L 2-4 (2-2 a, 0-2 h)
- 2004/05 Chelsea L 5-6 (2-4 a, 3-2 h)
- 2001/02 Real Madrid L 2-3 (2-1 h, 0-2 a)
- 2000/01 Manchester United W 3-1 (1-0 a, 2-1 h)
- 1999/00 Porto W 3-2 (1-1 a, 2-1 h)
- 1998/99 Kaiserslautern W 6-0 (2-0 h, 4-0 a)
- 1997/98 Borussia Dortmund L 0-1 (0-0 h, 0-1 a)
- 1994/95 IFK Göteborg W 2-2 away goals (0-0 h, 2-2 a)
- 1990/91 Porto W 3-1 (1-1 h, 2-0 a)
- 1989/90 PSV Eindhoven W 3-1 (2-1 h, 1-0 a)
- 1987/88 Real Madrid L 3-4 (3-2 h, 0-2 a)
- 1986/87 Anderlecht W 7-2 (5-0 h, 2-2 a)
- 1985/86 Anderlecht L 2-3 (2-1 h, 0-2 a)
- 1981/82 Universitatea Craiova W 3-1 (2-0 a, 1-1 h)
- 1980/81 Baník Ostrava W 6-2 (2-0 h, 4-2 a)
- 1976/77 Dynamo Kyiv L 1-2 (1-0 h, 0-2 a)
- 1975/76 Benfica W 5-1 (0-0 a, 5-1 h)
- 1974/75 Ararat Yerevan W 2-1 (2-0 h, 0-1 a)
- 1973/74 CSKA Sofia W 5-3 (4-1 h, 1-2 a)
- 1972/73 Ajax L 2-5 (0-4 a, 2-1 h)

This is Bayern's 21st appearance in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals – a competition record, two more than Real Madrid.

Bayern have lost more European Cup quarter-finals than any other club, the 12 defeats including the last two.

Bayern are in the UEFA Champions League proper for the 26th time, one behind joint record holders Real Madrid and Barcelona, and the 15th season in a row.

The Munich club, who claimed the last of their six European Cups in 2020, have won their group in each of the last five seasons and 19 times overall, two short of Barcelona's competition record; they have featured in the knockout rounds every season since 2007/08, when they were in the UEFA Cup, and have not failed to progress beyond the initial group stage since 2002/03.

In 2021/22 Bayern won all six group games for the second time to finish first in Group E ahead of Benfica, Barcelona and Dynamo Kyiv. They then eased past Salzburg in the round of 16 (1-1 a, 7-1 h) but, for the second year running, were eliminated in the quarter-finals, going out to Villarreal (0-1 a, 1-1 h).

Bayern have not failed to reach the UEFA Champions League semi-finals three seasons running since 2008/09.

Nagelsmann's team claimed the Bundesliga title in 2021/22, Bayern's record-extending tenth successive league championship and 32nd overall.

Bayern kicked off this season with a 2-0 win at Inter Milan on Matchday 1, completing another perfect group stage campaign – for the third time in four seasons – with victory against the Nerazzurri in Munich by the same scoreline. They also beat Barcelona 2-0 at home and 3-0 away and Viktoria Plzen 5-0 at home and 4-2 away.

Paris were overcome in the round of 16, Bayern winning 1-0 in France with a Kingsley Coman strike and 2-0 in Germany thanks to second-half goals from Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and substitute Serge Gnabry.

A 3-2 loss to Paris in the 2020/21 round of 16 first leg ended Bayern's run of eight successive home UEFA Champions League victories and is one of only two of their last 18 matches in the competition in Munich they have not won, the other last season's draw against Villarreal. They have yet to concede at home in this European campaign.

This is Bayern's first tie with English opponents since a 7-1 aggregate win against Chelsea in the round of 16 of their victorious 2019/20 UEFA Champions League campaign (3-0 a, 4-1 h).

That was Bayern's sixth win in their last seven two-legged ties against English clubs; their overall record is W11 L6. A 3-1 aggregate loss to Liverpool in the 2018/19 round of 16 (0-0 a, 1-3 h) is their sole defeat since losing to Chelsea in the 2004/05 quarter-finals (2-4 a, 3-2 h).

That 2019 defeat by Liverpool ended Bayern's four-match winning run at home to Premier League clubs. Prior to that they had not prevailed in four matches in Bavaria, including the 2012 final defeat on penalties by Chelsea.

Bayern have recovered from an away first-leg defeat to win the tie on ten occasions in UEFA competition but have suffered 14 defeats, including 11 in the last 14 contests, most recently against Villarreal last season.

Bayern have retrieved a deficit of two goals or more only once in UEFA competition, against Porto in the 2014/15 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals (1-3 a, 6-1 h). They were eliminated by Barcelona in the next round (0-3 a, 3-2 h), only the second time they had lost the away first leg 3-0; the German club lost the previous tie as well, although they did win the second leg, against Valencia in the 1996/97 UEFA Cup first round (1-0 h).

Bayern's record in six UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W5 L1:

- 4-3 v Åtvidaberg, 1973/74 European Cup first round
- 9-8 v PAOK, 1983/84 UEFA Cup second round
- 5-4 v Valencia, 2000/01 UEFA Champions League final
- 3-1 v Real Madrid, 2011/12 UEFA Champions League semi-final
- 3-4 v Chelsea, 2011/12 UEFA Champions League final
- 5-4 v Chelsea, 2013 UEFA Super Cup

MAN CITY

City's record in European Cup quarter-finals is W3 L3:

- 2021/22 Atlético de Madrid W 1-0 (1-0 h, 0-0 a)
- 2020/21 Borussia Dortmund W 4-2 (2-1 h, 2-1 a)
- 2019/20 Lyon L 1-3 (n)
- 2018/19 Tottenham L 4-4 away goals (0-1 a, 4-3 h)
- 2017/18 Liverpool L 1-5 (0-3 a, 1-2 h)
- 2015/16 Paris Saint-Germain W 3-2 (2-2 a, 1-0 h)

This is City's 12th UEFA Champions League campaign, all in succession; they have featured every season from 2011/12 onwards.

Including this season, the Manchester club's last ten campaigns have all stretched into the knockout rounds, their best performance coming in 2020/21 when they reached a first European Cup final only to lose 1-0 to fellow English side Chelsea, under new Bayern boss Tuchel, in Porto.

In 2021/22, City finished first in Group A on 12 points, one ahead of Paris, having won four of their six games. They then beat Sporting CP (5-0 a, 0-0 h) and Atlético de Madrid (1-0 h, 0-0 a) but were eliminated by eventual champions Real Madrid in the semi-finals (4-3 h, 1-3 a aet).

This season the Manchester club scored 11 goals in winning their first three games, sealing qualification with a goalless draw at Copenhagen on Matchday 4. They were also held 0-0 at Borussia Dortmund in their next fixture before a 3-1 home victory against Sevilla.

Guardiola's side have now finished first in their UEFA Champions League group for six successive seasons.

City drew 1-1 at Leipzig in the round of 16 first leg before that 7-0 home win in the return, in which Erling Haaland scored five goals – only the third player to do so in the UEFA Champions League.

Haaland's first-leg strike against Bayern was his 11th goal in this season's UEFA Champions League, cementing his place as the competition's leading scorer.

With 25 goals City were level with Napoli as the 2022/23 competition's joint top-scoring team after the quarter-final first legs.

The win against Leipzig was City's joint biggest European victory, the other also coming at home to German visitors in the round of 16 second leg, against Schalke in 2018/19. They have now won their last 11 home games against Bundesliga sides, ten in Manchester.

City won their fourth Premier League title in five seasons in 2021/22, the club's eighth league title overall – and sixth since 2011/12.

The first leg of this tie made it 25 home European matches unbeaten for City (W23 D2) since a 2-1 loss to Lyon on Matchday 1 in 2018/19, winning 17 of the last 18 with the exception of last season's draw against Sporting. That 25-match run without a home defeat is a new English club record in the UEFA Champions League, overtaking Arsenal's 24-game sequence from September 2004 to April 2009.

The Cityzens have won 15 of their last 27 away European matches (D7 L5).

This season City beat Borussia Dortmund 2-1 on Matchday 2 before a 0-0 away draw on Matchday 5.

City's 14-match unbeaten run against German clubs – with 13 victories – was ended by a 2-1 loss in Leipzig on Matchday 6 last season. It was their first defeat by a Bundesliga club since the 1-0 reverse at Bayern in September 2014.

The Manchester club lost six of their first eight away games against German clubs (W2) but have been beaten in only one of the last nine (W5 D3), winning four in a row before losing in Leipzig last season.

This season's elimination of Leipzig made City's record in two-legged ties against German clubs W5 L2 with victories in the last four – all in the UEFA Champions League. They have never lost a knockout tie in this competition to German opponents. The last Bundesliga club to defeat them over two legs were Hamburg in the quarter-finals of the 2008/09 UEFA Cup (1-3 a, 2-1 h).

Bayern are the fifth different German club to have faced City in a UEFA Champions League knockout tie. They have previously eliminated Borussia Mönchengladbach, Schalke, Dortmund and Leipzig.

Last season's semi-final was City's third aggregate loss in the ten UEFA competition ties in which they had won the home first leg. Their other two defeats came against Juventus in the 1976/77 UEFA Cup first round (1-0 h, 0-2 a) and on away goals against Monaco in the 2016/17 UEFA Champions League round of 16 (5-3 h, 1-3 a). This is the first time they have won the home first leg 3-0.

City's record in two UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W2 L0:

- 4-2 v Midtjylland, 2008/09 UEFA Cup second qualifying round
- 4-3 v Aalborg, 2008/09 UEFA Cup round of 16